A third of Russians believe the authorities should step up measures to combat terrorism

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Most Russians (57%) believe that flight safety should be enhanced following Russian plane crash in Egypt, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) said on Thursday. The results of its latest survey have been posted on the pollster’s website.

"The overwhelming majority of our fellow countrymen expects the Russian government to take specific actions in connection with the incident. More than half (57%) of those polled believe the authorities should enhance flight security, about one-third (32%) say that it should step up measures to combat terrorism," the document says. Another 28% favor the suspension of Russian aircraft fights over the regions where hostilities are underway.

The survey was conducted on November 7 and 8, with 1,600 people in 130 inhabited localities in Russia’s 46 regions, territories and republics polled. The margin of error does not exceed 3,5%.

An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 some 30 minutes after the takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.

It fell down 100 kilometers south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. There were four Ukrainian and one Belarusian nationals among the passengers. Russia temporarily halted flights to Egypt. Some European countries also suspended flights of their air carriers to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.